Teacher Appreciation Day/Week

Teacher Appreciation Week is a week long celebration in the United States observed the first full week in May. Teacher Appreciation Day is the Tuesday that falls during Teacher Appreciation Week. There are many ways that you can show appreciation to your staff.

Teacher Appreciation Ideas

Have a teacher Spa Day (with parent volunteers that do hair, nails, facials, massages, etc., if possible)

Put together a class-made thank you book

Give goody baskets (each child/family can bring in a small item)

Wash the teachers' cars in the parking lot

Frame teacher poem(s)

Appreciation plaques

Memory book/scrapbook with each child/family contributing a page

Certificates (appreciation, longevity, achievements, etc.)

Bulletin board with each teacher having a 'flower' /blank 'petals' for parents to write compliments on

Teacher pins or service-length pins

Have a breakfast or luncheon (with parents &/or children cooking)

Gifts or gift certificates (possibly donated by local businesses)

A home-cooked "take out" meal provided for each teacher's family

Books purchased for the classroom in honor of that teacher (with bookplate/dedication inside)

Send flowers

Bring in cake, cookies, or treats

Make-over of the staff lounge by parent volunteers (painting, new curtains, etc.)

Have co-workers/parents write "Pats on the Back" (paper handprints) then tape them to the teachers' backs (to be read at the end of the day)

Have children plant a tree or a bush dedicated to the teaching staff

Have several local businesses "adopt" a teacher, displaying a picture of that teacher with notes and pictures from children and parents

Start or expand upon a fund for staff to attend workshops or conferences. Encourage parents to donate in a teacher's honor.

Make a teacher name plaque or small wall decoration with a phrase about teaching. Wooden apples and "chalkboards" can be purchased at craft stores, then painted and personalized.

Have each classroom create a "Wish List" of items to be donated

At the end of the week, put all of the names of the teachers in for a drawing for a larger prize item/gift, or have a "White Elephant" trade.

Have parents see if their employers sponsor grants for equipment or training of the childcare providers of employees

Put a poem about teaching in the center of a large piece of posterboard. Put a handprint of each child around it.

Make "Teacher Survival Kits" (A Rubberband: to remind you to be flexible; A Lifesaver: for all you do; Kisses: to remind you that you are loved; $1000 Bar: what you are really worth; An emery board: when things get a little rough; A penny: for your thoughts; A puzzle piece: without you, things are not complete; Trial-size Calgon: to "take you away"; A crayon: to color your day; Some marbles: to replace the ones you may have lost; A Mounds: for the mounds of stuff you teach; A gold star: you're a star, etc.)